6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (22 August - Results & Review)

Ups…

6. Tag Division Heats Up

Xavier Woods Matt Riddle
WWE.com

In almost every universe imaginable, 12-time tag team champions New Day should not lose to a team making their third appearance as a duo in Matt Riddle & Drew McIntyre.

Yes, the match should be competitive, but New Day’s experience should carry the day – and they were in control for large portions of their match Monday night. The Viking Raiders spoiling the party fit their character too, upset at losing to both teams the past two weeks and getting revenge (or at least trying).

Seeing two veteran teams and a makeshift tandem mix it up is rarely a bad thing, especially if it leads to one of them earning a title shot. You’d much rather see that than some random duo get a title match out of the blue, or tag teams being used as enhancement fodder for a giant, or some other spiteful Vince practice.

This isn’t some great shakes, but it gives six men something to fight about. And the teased “This ain’t working for me, bro” from McIntyre is a nice wrinkle to see if and when Drew finally turns on Riddle after success doesn’t materialize.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.